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Swatch It Out: Random Polishes #10

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

It's random polish swatch time again, oh yeah! I have a mix of all different brands today that retail for $2 to $9. I am also happy that I finally found some polishes from the new gel lines from Broadway, Kiss, and LA Colors.

My nails are also not in the best shape at that moment. I have cracks, peels, uneven spots, and whatnot like a lot of people do. So, I thought it would be neat to see how well these polishes hide or accentuate that as well. I think it's important to see what polishes look like on non-professional nails that aren't photo-shopped to death.

Kiss Gel Strong - Electric

The picture above shows 3 coats without a top coat under a daylight bulb.

I picked this up at my local Kmart store for around $4.00. I just fell in love with the color in the bottle. It's a purple base with a kind of magenta flash of shimmers in there.

The formula is great! That's good, because the brush on these polishes is quite massive and square at the end. It could be a problem for people like me with short, stubby nail beds.

I do really like this polish, but I was disappointed with how sheer it is. So next time I wear it, I will put it over a solid base as a topper.

While my nail line still shows through quite a bit, you can't really see my nail flaws very much. That may be because of the shimmers or the three coats. Either way, I'm all about it.

Wet n Wild Megalast - Wet Cement

The picture above shows 2 coats without a top coat under a daylight bulb.

I picked this one up a long time ago probably from CVS for $1.99. This shade is in their core line and can usually be found at any store that carries them.

This was one of the first neutral polishes that I ever purchased. I really do love the color, but the formula is just okay. It's definitely not one of the better ones from this line which has some stellar polishes.

If you have nails that aren't smooth, you may not like this one. As you can see in the picture, all my peels, cracks, and other lovelies are almost highlighted instead of camouflaged by it.

Broadway Nails Gel Strong - Where's Nemo?

The picture above shows 2 coats without a top coat under a daylight bulb.

I picked this polish up at my local Dollar General store for $2.

I just had to pick this up, because I had never before seen this line at any stores around me. I've tried one Broadway polish from the regular $1 line with great success. So, curiosity called to me.

The formula is on the runny side, but not unmanageable if you make sure to get all the excess off of the wand and brush. I didn't have any cuticle flooding even while filming.

The drying time is about medium. It's not super fast, but it's not so slow that it makes you want to cry and throw things.

If you have peels, uneven ridges, and whatnot like I do when I took this picture, this might be a polish to consider as it covered mine up pretty well even before a top coat. If you compare the giant peel on my middle finger in this picture to the Wet n Wild one above, it's a night and day difference.

Zoya - Dot

The picture above shows 2 coats without a top coat under a daylight bulb.

I picked this polish up directly from the company's website during one of their promotions. The full retail is $9, but you can get them half off or more pretty often.

The formula on this one is not good. It is very runny and hard to work with. I forgive it, because I love the color so much. It makes no sense, but I do love it.

I picked this one up at CVS during a Sally Hansen promotion. I think these retail for around $5-6.

This one is so gorgeous in the bottle, but the formula leaves a lot to be desired. It is so runny! The polish tries to drip off the brush before you can even go from bottle to nail.

It is very pretty and very sparkly. You also don't have to fish much for glitter.

It covers up imperfections well as any good glitter does. The shiny and sparkly distracts anyone who looks. Haha!

LA Color Color Craze Gel - Damsel

The picture above shows 1 coat without a top coat under a daylight bulb.

I picked this one up at my local Big Lots for $2. These polishes are really hard to find in my area. I have 3 Big Lots stores and only 1 had them. I must not be the only one looking, because the display had gotten the crap beat out of it.

The formula on this one is awesome! I was shocked. I honestly expected this one to be quite mediocre.

The brush on this is different from the regular Color Craze polishes. It's wider and softer. So, I found that it worked best when I pushed it to the base of my nail, pushed a bit so it fanned out to the side, and did one swoop up for coverage.

I'm just over the moon with this one. I'll have to keep my eye out for more.

This one didn't seem to cover my nail flaws very well with 1 coat. It didn't highlight them, but you can still see them. I might have benefited from a 2nd coat for a thicker coverage.

Sinful Colors - Embers Only

The picture above shows 2 coats without a top coat under a daylight bulb.

I picked this one up at my local Big Lots for a little under $2. Lots of other stores carry these including Walgreens which sometimes has them on sale for $.99.

I hesitate to talk about the formula, because I don't know if it would be the same when purchased in store. When I bought this particular one, I noticed it was partially dried out and way too thick when I got it home. So, I had to add 5 or 6 drops of polish thinner to it to make it manageable again. (I'm not about to waste $5 in gas to exchange or return a $2 item. Haha!)

I will say that it dries just a hair more cherry red than it appears in the bottle. I just love the color, and I am not usually a big fan of bright reds like this at all. Also, I can appreciate the color name pun. The world needs more puns.

It seemed to cover up my peeling and stuff very well, too, other than the spot I missed on the edge of my pointer finger.

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Finals Thoughts:

The winner this week, in my opinion is LA Colors Gel in Damsel.

I mean, wow, that was a nice surprise. I'll be curious to road test it eventually for wear time and whatnot, but I am very impressed with how it swatches.

I don't think that I have any worthy of craft retirement this week, but there are a couple that have crappy formulas that I am keeping for illogical reasons: Zoya in Dot and Wet n Wild in Wet Cement.

As for which ones covered up my nail flaws:

Where's Nemo? from Broadway was the clear winner, and Wet n Wild Wet Cement came in last place by far.

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Video (with Live Swatches)

Or watch on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-HNwYXiXXs

----*Not sponsored in any way. I bought all these myself. Not that cool*Also...wow, bless my nails' heart. They are peeling, cracking, and all that good stuff. Haha!